The Grand Duchy of Kington Langley
Kington Langley (officially The Grand Duchy of Kington Langley) is a recognised sovereign state off the coast of Norfolk located in the North Sea, the nearest coastline is approximatly 10 miles off the coast of the United Kingdom. The territory gained independance from the United Kingdom in 2008, since then it has formed a working economy and a strong army, its government is large but efficient. The Grand Duke leaves most of the political work to the Prime Minister and nation's Parliament. on 18th March, the nations constitution was proposed and also, the national currency was brought into circulation for the first time, the Kington Pound, almost the same value as the British Pound. Kington Langley is now a prosperous nation full of culture and pride and is one of the most endorsed and most respected nations in Europe, as of 12th June 2010 it is the 222th most influencial nation in Nationstates (25th in Europe). nation preceded by Republic of Kington Langley History Formation, Colinisation & The Birth of a Nation The Grand Duchy of Kington Langley ecompasses the entire island of 'Great Langley', the island was formed out of freak volcanic activity in 2004 when the United Kingdom quickly claimed the island for themselves, a huge population boom caused it to swell well above the population of the British Isles. On 2nd January 2008 the United Kingdom, under immense military pressure by the colony of Great Langley declared Great Langley an independant state inside the Commonwealth, the nation renamed itself The Republic Kington Langley a few days afterwards but still remained inside the Commonwealth. On 23rd April 2009 it formally was accepted into the World Assembly and drafted up its first 'formal' constitution and first national flag. The nation at this point had a bright look on its future. The Civil War On the 20th August 2009, a military regiment opened fire on one of the southern island military bases and managed to form an armed uprising against the government, the military coup d'etat was successful however the billigerants formed a tighter democracy for Kington Langley had been taken over by huge business companies. After the coup Kington Langley saw an introduction to a National Health Service and a huge decrease in tax, the civil war in Kington Langley turned the nation towards democracy. Democracy Crisis 2009 In October 2009, a month after the civil war and the coup, several nations around the world started to question whether the new Kingtonian governmant was as democratic as the Republic which it had replaced with an Absolute Monarchy on the 1st of September 2009. At a World Assembly global meeting, the political stance of Kington Langley was discussed, the World Assembly never gave their conclusion on the matter but unofficially believe that Kington Langley is a democracy in some form. The debate was finally resolved when it was classed as a 'Centrst Democracy' by the WA in December 2009. Government and Politics Parliament As a Grand Duchy the nation is more of a dictatorial form of government and the Grand Duke is sovereign, however, the Grand Duke usually entrusts much of the political work to Parliament and the Prime Minister thus it functions day-to-day as a Parliamentary Democracy. The economy, education, health and other areas all go through parliament which makes them more responsible, in many ways, for the nation than the Grand Duke. Foreign Relations Kington Langley has been independent for a little over one year and has a population of just over 1 billion. It is a fairly influencial nation within Europe already but it has begun to make a name for itself outside of its home region. It currently has embassies in 5 nations and has taken out international schemes such as airport sharing, its flag carrier is now a key member of the Oneworld Airline Alliance which is home to several international flag carrying airlines. Kington Langley has also started to export products, especially automobiles from its flourishing car industry. It also is making deals to import products from other nations, companies such as VLT, which now owns King Motors, Kington Langley's main luxury automobile manufacturer is importing new, foreign automobiles for use on Kingtonian roads. This then helps the economy as VLT's new subsidiary company, VLT Kington Langley, has built 2 production plants to reduce the cost of importing vehicles and also reduces waiting lists for car dealers. Overall Kington Langley is devoting alot of attention to the rest of the world. It currently has been involved in 2 wars to date. The Anglo-Irish war and a voluntary peace keeping role in an ongoing civil war. Kington Langley is classed as 'vassal' on the World Assembly World Factbook and holds just over 180 endorsements. Kington Langley has also stressed since its creation, as a republic and as a grand duchy, that is will remain neutral in most conflicts. It has only broke this promise once and that was their declaration of war on Gael na Eire during the Anglo-Irish War. This has also led to the first signs of expansion for Kington Langley, it now holds the Irish settlement of Sligo as an overseas dependency as a condition of the surrender of Gael na Eire (several other participant states recieved territory). Kington Langley however does offer aid in many conflicts around the world and now has a special medical and aid organisation that helps the civilians of nations at war with other nations and also with themselves. To date, it has been in over 20 wars, helping civilians and injured soldiers. Kington Langley, being a neutral country has never started a war of its own. Tourism and Culture Traditions of Kington Langley As being a new state, there are not many traditions in Kington Langley, most have come from the people who first arrived, the national sport is Badminton and another popular sport, (believed to be imported from Finnish settlers) is Wife Carrying which is very popular . Traditions created in Kington Langley however are almost impossible to find as the nation is still very new, the largest tradition is the introduction of a brand new language, Kingtonian, which is a mixture of English and Finnish with a hint of Frisian, German and Norman French . But still most traditions in Kington Langley have been imported from other countries such as Fox Hunting which saw a rapid increase in participants after it was banned in the United Kingdom, people from the UK still often take day trips to Kington Langley to fox hunt however Kingtonian authorities are hoping to make this illegal in the near future. Tourism to Great Langley As a new island, the island of Great Langley is a number one tourist destination and it is 'peak time' all year round as there is everything to do, mountains to the north provide excellent places to ski and the south contains rich fields that are beautiful in the summer months. Another popular reason for tourism is for Kington Langley's unusually relaxed immigration policy, in order to live in Kington Langley and obtain a visa is to have a valid driving licence and the ability to contribute to the community. Economy Kington Langley's economy was formed after the capital city of Kingsmouth was founded in 2004. The economy developed from a section of the UK economy to an independent flourishing economy. Kington Langley's economy today is stable with the WA rating it at 'Powerhouse'. Over the past few years Kington Langley has been effected by global recession and even war but the economy at the moment is at a stable rate, the recent increase in power of Kingtonian based companies has led to an increase in economical power. Some companies however have put a strain on the economy, for example the recent creation of the Kington Langley Space Agency, the government is set to lose several million before a profit is made. The centre of Kington Langley's economy is the business district of Kingsmouth, it is in the top 100 largest in Europe home to the headquarters of several multinational corperations such as the KLAA, Kington Langley's sole airport operator, the Text Talk Group, Kington Langley's largest telecommunications network and KLBC the largest broadcaster in the country. Outside the cities, Kington Langley has a thriving farming community which still has a sizable stake in the GDP of the country being the largest contributer to GDP outside the cities. One overlooked part of the economy is the motor industry, even though most automobiles in the country are manufactured by foreign companies, one of the most successful cars however is Kingtonian, Howitzer Cars, which create around 30% of all cars on Kingtonian roads. Kington Langley has a flourishing airline industry with it's flag carrier Royal Kingtonian Airways creating more and more links abroad. Geography North Island The north portion of the island is the location of the huge volcanic activity that took place in 2004 which created the islands, the island chain, simply the 'Great Langley Mountains', also provide a barrier from the cold northerly winds keeping the souther portion of the island warmer than most places on the same latitude, however without the warming effects of the Gulf Stream the island can become pretty cold in the winter. Also, it is home to Greater Langley's largest freshwater lake known as 'Lake Wilts'. This provides much of the nations drinking water and is a popular water sports location in the summer it also is on the route of the River King which the capital of Kingsmouth gets its name. Another amazing feature is the northern cliffs which are some of the highest in Europe, several varieties of seabird have found refuge in these cliff faces only 5 years after their creation. South Island The southern half of the island is home to 98% of the forests and woodland on Greater Langley, due to its age, there are no deciduous trees on the islands, only coniferous trees such as imported scots pine which occupy the mountains in the north. The south is also home to the nation's capital and largest trading port, the harbour leading into the city is another remarkable geographical feature of the island as well. The southern half of the island is also home to the nation's national animal, the Great Bustard which was introduced by British scientists to spread out the colony they already had on Salisbury Plain. Future of the Island Due to the composition of the island, like the Hawaiian volcanic islands, the island will slowly crumble into the sea, the nation of Kington Langley already has a plan to save the nation when this eventually does happen. Also, the lake that supplies most of the water is drying up due to global warming and more frequent and longer periods of no rain, the government will soon be forced to import water from Britain, France, Germany or Norway. The Grand Duke, accompanied by the Prime Minister shared their views on the future of Kington Langley and the island of Great Langley and tell the citizens that scientists predict that the island may only survive for a few hundred years See Also *Military of Kington Langley *Parliament of Kington Langley External links #Kington Langley's nationstates page Category:Countries Category:Countries